The European Hyperloop Week (EHW) is the largest hyperloop student competition in the world. It is a yearly event in which student teams from all over the world can demonstrate their hyperloop systems and share their knowledge. The EHW was founded in 2020 by four student teams (HYPED, Hyperloop UPV, Swissloop, Delft Hyperloop) after the discontinuation of the Space X’s Hyperloop Pod Competition.
The goal of the EHW is to stimulate innovation and technological development to make hyperloop the fifth mode of transportation. Where the SpaceX hyperloop competition was all about speed, the EHW strives to be a competition that focuses on full-scale implementation. During the EHW there are several activities being organized, such as competitions, demonstrations, conferences, workshops, exhibitions and social gatherings. This makes it not only a competition, but also an event for students, researchers, companies and visitors to come together and share their hyperloop knowledge.
The EHW 2025 edition will be hosted in July at the European Hyperloop Center (EHC) in Groningen, the Netherlands. The EHC is an open test facility and knowledge center at which developers from around the world can test and validate their hyperloop technologies. With a 420m long test tube including a lane-switch, the EHC aims to accelerate hyperloop innovation. Hosting the EHW at the EHC allows teams to use this infrastructure to test their hyperloop prototypes.
Student teams can participate in different categories. The main competition categories are the demonstration competition, the showcase competition and the research submission. In the demonstration competition each student team demonstrates their prototype and competes for several awards (engineering design, levitation & guidance, propulsion and integration). The goal of the demonstration award is to encourage technological development.
The showcase competition, on the contrary, is focused on the clear and effective communication of hyperloop concepts, technologies and challenges to both technical and general audiences. Within this competition each student team can showcase their work at an exhibition.
The last competition category is the research submission. The research submission category is divided into two parts: the technical aspects of hyperloop systems and the socio-economic aspects of hyperloop development. For both categories, student teams need to submit a research paper and present their results during the EHW. This category is focused on the translation from hyperloop prototypes to the implementation of a full-scale hyperloop system.
Next to these sub-categories, student teams also compete for the overall award. The overall award is granted to the student team which received the most points from both the demonstration competition and the research submission. The European Hyperloop Week will continue to drive innovation and provide a place for students to compete for the best hyperloop student team.
Read more about the European Hyperloop Week at their website: https://hyperloopweek.com/
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